BlackRock World Mining Trust plc Regulatory News (BRWM)

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

One

Three

One

Three

Five

Month

Months

Year

Years

Years

Net asset value

-6.7%

-12.1%

-1.7%

47.2%

82.6%

Share price

-8.6%

-13.2%

-5.8%

59.1%

111.5%

MSCI ACWI Metals & Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index (Net)*

-4.6%

-8.8%

5.6%

37.9%

60.0%

* (Total return)

Sources: BlackRock, MSCI ACWI Metals & Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index, Datastream

Net asset value (including income)1:

561.40p

Net asset value (capital only):

543.73p

Share price:

540.00p

Discount to NAV2:

3.8%

Total assets:

£1,230.7m

Net yield3:

7.4%

Net gearing:

12.8%

Ordinary shares in issue:

191,183,036

Ordinary shares held in Treasury:

1,828,806

Ongoing charges4:

0.95%

Ongoing charges5:

0.84%

Country Analysis

TotalAssets (%)

Global

65.0

Australasia

7.8

Latin America

7.7

Canada

7.2

United States

6.4

Other Africa

2.9

Indonesia

0.8

South Africa

0.2

Asia

0.2

Net Current Assets

1.8

-----

100.0

=====

Sector Analysis

TotalAssets (%)

Diversified

35.7

Copper

22.3

Gold

16.0

Steel

6.2

Industrial Minerals

5.7

Aluminium

3.1

Uranium

2.4

Iron Ore

2.4

Platinum Group Metals

1.8

Nickel

1.4

Mining Services

1.1

Zinc

0.1

Net Current Assets

1.8

-----

100.0

=====

Ten largest investments

Company

Total Assets %

BHP:

Equity

7.4

Royalty

1.6

Glencore

8.5

Vale:

Equity

4.9

Debenture

2.6

Rio Tinto

6.9

Freeport-McMoRan

4.4

Newmont

3.8

Barrick Gold

3.1

Wheaton Precious Metals

2.8

Teck Resources

2.6

Norsk Hydro ASA

2.5

Asset Analysis

Total Assets (%)

Equity

95.2

Bonds

2.3

Convertible Bonds

0.7

Net Current Assets

1.8

-----

100.0

=====

Commenting on the markets, Evy Hambro and Olivia Markham, representing the Investment Manager noted:

Performance

The Company’s NAV fell by 6.7% in October, underperforming its reference index, the MSCI ACWI Metals and Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index (net return), which fell by 4.6% (performance figures in GBP).

October was a challenging month for the mining sector. Increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and expectations for higher-for-longer interest rates appeared to contribute to a risk-off environment for equities. For reference, the MSCI ACWI TR Index fell by 3.0% during the month. Meanwhile, sentiment towards China remained negative as the country’s manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 from 50.6 in September. However, the Chinese administration continues to point to stimulus measures, which we expect to come through incrementally.

Mined commodity performance was mixed, with the copper price falling -2.2% but the iron ore price (62% fe) rising +2.1%. Elsewhere, the precious metals performed well on ‘safe-haven’ demand, with gold, silver and platinum prices rising +7.5%, +3.5% and +1.8% respectively. Meanwhile, battery materials prices were weak (particularly lithium) after General Motors and Ford announced a pullback in electric vehicle-related spend. At the company-level, we saw Q3 production numbers announced during the month, which were generally below or in line with expectations. We also saw some miners having to announce capital expenditure increases.

Strategy and Outlook

China has re-opened but with less impact than had been expected early this year. Uncertainty persists around China’s commodity demand, but we are seeing the Chinese administration announce financial support incrementally.

Longer term, we are excited by the structural demand growth for a range of mined commodities that will result from the low carbon transition. Meanwhile, commodity supply is likely to be constrained by the capital discipline of recent years, whilst inventories for many mined commodities are at historic lows. Mining companies have low levels of debt, continue to return capital to shareholders but appear to be entering a higher capital expenditure phase.

In 2023, we have seen Brown to Green emerge as a key theme, where mining companies are focusing on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated with their production. We expect to see a re-rating for the mining companies able to best navigate this and are playing this in the portfolio.

All data points are in USD terms unless stated otherwise.

16 November 2023

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/brwm on the internet. Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.